The Panthers offense was shaky throughout Sunday’s season-opening loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The pre-snap process was lethargic, the playmaking was uneven, and the center-to-quarterback exchange was inconsistent.
Veteran center Austin Corbett, after watching the tape of the 26-10 loss, came away disappointed in the offensive flow in the team’s operation.
“It was absolutely off,” Corbett said. “It was slow, it was ugly, it was disappointing — whatever adjectives you want to throw in behind it. And so, we came out there today, and I think it’s a different urgency at practice. And that’s what we’re trying to take with us all week and take it with us to Arizona.”
Corbett had his share of miscues in the season-opener, including multiple off-target snaps to quarterback Bryce Young. Those mistakes were highlighted as the team routinely squandered drives.
After reflecting on the footage from the game, Corbett acknowledged his hand in the loss.
“A couple that were high,” Corbett said about his snaps. “Just taking Bryce off his spots. Like he said, he doesn’t notice, because he’s just being an athlete, playing football and getting it from there. So, it’s just making things easy on him.”
Corbett noted that the flow of the offense was hurt by delayed setups at the line. The offense’s huddles didn’t break in rhythm, and so a slow rush to line led to some issues with protection calls, which needed a sense of urgency.
The veteran lineman also noted that the headset microphone turned off multiple times.
“It’s less than ideal,” Corbett said. “You’re not setting yourself up for any sort of success. You’re fighting an uphill battle at that point.”
So, the Panthers are working on urgency this week. They want to set up ahead of the defense in order to put the pressure on the opponents to line up. It’s imperative that the offense gets ahead of the defense’s setup.
“When we’re lackadaisical to get set, they know we’re not snapping it, and so urgency is at a premium,” Corbett said.
Corbett, who won a Super Bowl ring with the Los Angeles Rams, believes the Panthers can quickly rebound from the Week 1 loss. The offense certainly needs to clean up its operation, but Corbett thinks that process can be streamlined as early as this week.
“We’ve done it, that’s who we are, and we’re going to do it,” Corbett said.
The challenge of facing Kyler Murray, Cardinals offense
The Panthers have been historically bad against the run over their past 18 regular-season games. Opponents have rushed for 200 or more yards in each of the past seven games, dating back to last season.
The Arizona Cardinals, the team’s Week 2 opponent, actually factor into that math. Carolina hosted and defeated the Cardinals in Week 16 of last season in what was essentially a walk-off win. But the defense gave up 206 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, even in victory.
While James Conner paced the Cardinals with 117 rushing yards and a touchdown on 15 carries (7.8 yards per run), quarterback Kyler Murray also spurned the Panthers’ run defense. Murray ran for 63 yards and a touchdown on eight carries while averaging 7.9 yards per tote.
With Murray’s legs being just as effective as his arm, the Panthers will need to scheme up an approach to keep his mobility in check on Sunday in Arizona.
“I’m coming from a system in Seattle where, at one point early in Russell (Wilson’s) career, with Marshawn (Lynch) back there, we did a bunch of different things with the tight ends, with the back, with the shotgun formations and all of that,” said Carolina coach Dave Canales. “So, there are challenges that come with it.
“There are certain rules that come with it as well from a defensive standpoint,” Canales added. “So, we have to be disciplined about that.”
The Cardinals collected 146 rushing yards against the New Orleans Saints last week. They averaged 5.4 yards per carry, with Trey Benson leading the way with 69 yards on just eight carries (8.6 yards per run).
With Bensen and Conner forming a dynamic duo, Carolina will need to tackle well and avoid explosive runs, similar to Travis Etienne’s 71-yard jaunt in Week 1.
“Just being really disciplined about our assignments,” Canales said. “The reps throughout the week, trying to get any little piece of information that we can on what they’re doing. That’s the challenge of it.”
Along with consistently struggling against the run, the Panthers’ defense hasn’t been particularly strong in coverage against tight ends, either.
The Panthers allowed Jacksonville Jaguars tight ends to catch five passes (on five targets) for 65 combined yards and a touchdown in the regular-season opener.
Arizona tight end Trey McBride is coming off a monster 2024 season, and he caught six passes for 61 yards against the Saints in Week 1. However, the Panthers limited McBride to just three catches for 20 yards on four targets last season.
Carolina is hoping to have similar success against McBride this week.
Injury updates: Wharton out, Ekwonu, Renfrow limited
As expected, veteran defensive lineman Tershawn “Turk” Wharton was held out of practice on Wednesday with a hamstring injury. The free-agent addition was knocked out of Week 1’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second quarter after a solid start to the outing.
On Monday, Canales said Wharton had a two-to-four-week recovery timeline. That timeline began on Wednesday with Wharton receiving a “did not participate” designation on the first injury report of the week.
Left tackle Ikem Ekwonu continued to work his way back from appendectomy surgery to begin Week 2.
Ekwonu underwent the emergency procedure just over two weeks ago, and he seems to be progressing well after missing Week 1’s loss. Veteran swing tackle Yosh Nijman filled in for Ekwonu against the Jaguars, but it appears Ekwonu is on the mend.
Ekwonu received a “limited participant” designation to start the week.
Outside linebacker Patrick Jones (ankle) and wideout Hunter Renfrow (ribs) were also limited. Both injuries are new following the loss to Jacksonville.
Jones left the game with an ankle injury, while Renfrow took a pair of shots to the midsection attempting to make catches against the Jaguars.
Below is the full injury report for Wednesday:
Did not participate: DE Tershawn Wharton (hamstring)
Limited participation: OT Ikem Ekwonu (illness), OLB Pat Jones (ankle), WR Hunter Renfrow (ribs)
Full participation: G Robert Hunt (foot), G Damien Lewis (shoulder/ankle), DE A’Shawn Robinson (groin)
Quick hits
Pro Football Focus ranked the Panthers’ offensive line as the No. 15 unit in the NFL following Week 1. Prior to the opener, the group was ranked 11th. Nijman replaced Ekwonu, and according to PFF, gave up a 14.0% pressure rate at left tackle.
Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan was the eigth-best graded rookie in the NFL in Week 1, according to PFF. His overall grade of 77.6 ranked sixth-best among all receivers. He caught five of nine targets for 68 yards.
Former Panthers pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney visited the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday, according to the NFL transaction report. However, he has yet to sign a contract with the team as of Wednesday evening.